In the commercial manufacturing world, it is not uncommon for counterfeit goods to be manufactured, distributed, and sold in direct competition with authentic goods. Counterfeiting has reached epidemic proportions worldwide, especially in the area of consumer goods including goods made from fabric, plastic, leather, metal, or combinations thereof such as clothing, handbags and wallets, perfumes, and other consumer goods. Counterfeiting of financial documents such as bank drafts or "checks" is also widespread in that both the check document as well as the affixed signature can both be of questionable authenticity.
It is common for the counterfeit articles to be of high quality and closely resemble authentic articles. Indeed, counterfeit articles can so closely resemble genuine goods that consumers readily confuse the counterfeit articles with the authentic articles. Thus, there exists a need for a system and method which enable a manufacturer to encode data represented by a mark or symbol, to direct marking of goods with the mark or symbol, and to enable remote inspection stations to check goods, whether articles of manufacture or basic material or financial instruments, for authentic marks or symbols and track authentic goods. Heretofore, such a comprehensive system was not available.
For example, certain known systems suggest marking goods with different patterns. However, such systems do not suggest a system that directs the marking of goods with a selected mark and the detection of the marks at remote locations. The patents described below represent the art in the area of marking and detecting goods.
Problems encountered in the distribution of goods is not limited to the distribution of counterfeit goods. The clandestine or illegal diversion of the shipment and distribution of authentic goods presents a major problem in modern commerce. Goods manufactured at one location might be subject to controls, such as a tax, if distributed at a second location, but might not be subject to a tax if distributed at the location of manufacture or even at a third tax free location. Tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, drugs and a wide variety of other goods and products fall into this category. Stated another way, authentic merchandise can become contraband if illegally distributed, diverted or "smuggled".
As an example of a problem in the distribution of authentic goods, consider tobacco products. A tobacco product or "production module" such as cigarettes, made by a legitimate manufacturer, might be taxable when sold in one state and not taxable when sold in another state. As a more specific example, cigarettes sold in the state of North Carolina are not subject to any excise tax. The same cigarettes sold in the state of New York are subject to an excise tax of, say, twenty five cents per pack of cigarettes. Tobacco companies typically increase the "wholesale" price of the cigarettes shipped to distributors in New York, and pay the excise tax directly to the taxing New York entity. Retailers in the state of New York compensates for the increased wholesale price by charging a higher retail price. Tobacco companies do not pay excise tax on cigarettes destined to be sold in North Carolina because no tax is due. As a result, the wholesale price of a pack or carton cigarettes in North Carolina is lower than the wholesale price for the same pack or carton in New York. If, however, cigarettes destined to be sold in North Carolina were illegally diverted to New York and sold at the New York retail price, an additional twenty five cents per pack profit would be illegally made by the New York distributor or retailer, and the New York taxing entity would loose twenty five cents per pack in revenue.
As illustrated in the example, there is a need to be able to track authentic goods based upon their destined point of final distribution. There is a further need to be able to mark and track the goods by packaging or "package module". In the example if only package modules comprising "cases" of multiple cartons of cigarettes were tracked, unscrupulous distributors could distribute contraband cartons of cigarettes to be sold by the carton or to be subdivided and sold by the pack. Authorities would have no means for tracking contraband cartons or packs of cigarettes. Even if the product were marked and tracked down to the carton package module, individual packs of cigarettes could be retailed illegally with no means for detection. It is, therefore, desirable to mark all package modules for tracking. In the example, this would include marking package modules down to the cigarette "pack" level.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,547, issued on Feb. 22, 1994, discloses a method for authenticating articles including incorporating into a carrier composition a mixture of at least two photochromic compounds that have different absorption maxima in the activated state and other different properties to form the authenticating display data on the article, subjecting the display data to various steps of the authenticating method, activation of all photochromic compounds, preferential bleaching of less than all of the photochromic compounds, and/or bleaching of all the photochromic compounds, and subsequent examination of the display data following the various activation and bleaching steps by verifying means to enable authentication.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,205, issued on Aug. 30, 1988, discloses an identification method and identification kit based upon making up groups of microsized particles normally visible to the naked eye with each particle in each group being of a selected uniform size, shape and color. Coded identification is established by transferring a population of particles from a selected number of the groups to the item to be identified and then confirming such identification by examining the marked item under high magnification with a light microscope.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,579, issued on Nov. 18, 1986, discloses a decorative composite article which may be longitudinally slit to form a yarn product which has a combined phosphorescent and fluorescent decorative appearance. The composite article includes paired outer layers of a thermoplastic resin between which is disposed a decorative layer comprising a composition including a colorant component having a phosphorescent colorant and a fluorescent colorant, and a resin binder material. The fluorescent colorant is present in an amount by weight that is up to an amount equal to that of the phosphorescent colorant. The present binder material may be selected from polyester, polyurethane and acrylic polymers and copolymers, with a mixture of butadiene-acrylonitrile rubber and polyurethane composition being preferred. The composite article is prepared by coating two resin films with the composition, followed by contacting the films with each other on their coated surfaces and applying heat and pressure to bond them together to form the decorative composite article.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,154, issued on Mar. 2, 1976, discloses a method and apparatus for recognizing colored patterns. The method includes encoding the colors of individual picture elements in a fabric pattern by comparing the level of transmittance or reflectance of the picture element at pre-selected wavelengths with stored values representing a reference color to generate a multibit code indicative of the color of the picture element. A comparator used for this purpose incorporates an error either proportional to the wavelength or of constant value so that the output of the comparator will indicate identity with the stored value if the input value for the picture element is within a certain range of the stored value.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,637, issued on Oct. 1, 1974, discloses the impregnation of spaced courses of yarn in a fabric with a material which is not visible under daylight, but which is visible only when subjected to ultra-violet light, so as to provide guide lines for cutting, or measuring indicia to enable visual counting of the number of yards of cloth in a roll from the end thereof without the necessity of unrolling the bolt.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,165, issued on Oct. 31, 1972, discloses a method of marking garments with a substance detectable by magnetic detecting devices. When the magnetized substance on the garment part is detected in a process of making garments, subsequent garment making steps are actuated in response to the detection of the stitching.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,547, issued on Feb. 22, 1994, discloses a method of cutting a sheet with a tool controlled by a computer system and in accordance with a cutting program wherein an operator marks certain particularities directly on the sheet using a fluorescent marker, the sheet is exposed to ultraviolet light while being scanned by a camera, the marking being interpretable as constraints on cutting to be taken into account by the cutting program, and cutting occurs following the instructions interpreted from the encoded pattern.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,706, issued on Nov. 16, 1976, discloses an automatically controlled cutting machine having a support table on which limp sheet material is spread for cutting by means of a cutting tool and includes a marking apparatus to identify key points on pattern pieces cut from the sheet material. The cutting tool and the marking apparatus are mounted on a tool platform for movement to any desired location over the sheet material. The marking apparatus utilizes a needle which is suspended above the sheet material and a dye thread which is laced through an eyelet in the depending end of the needle. Each time a mark is to be generated, the needle plunges downwardly through the sheet material, and dye on the thread is rubbed onto the material at the point under consideration. An indexing mechanism operated with the reciprocating movement of the needle pulls a finite length of thread through the eyelet after each marking operation.
Thus, there remains a need for a system and method for controlling, enabling, and directing marking of goods during the manufacturing process and enabling detection/cross-validation of the marks so that the goods are uniquely identified and tracked throughout the stream of commerce. Still further, the marks should specify the final point or points of distribution of the goods. In addition, goods should be marked so that the markings are not readily observable and so that the markings contain sufficient information for product authentication, identification, and tracking. Furthermore, the markings should be durable and preferably resistant to normal wear and abrasion encountered in the manufacture, packing, shipping, distribution, portage and use of the goods by the final consumers. Still further, the markings should be relatively difficult to remove and, if removed, should preferably render the goods essentially unusable or in a condition which prevents distribution or sale.